This is the player profile of one of the most prolific T20 batsman Chris Gayle of West Indies.
Basic Details about Chris Gayle
Full Name: Christopher Henry Gayle
Nick Name(s): Gayle Storm, Gayle Force, Master Storm
Date of Birth: 21st September, 1979
Place of Birth: Kingston, Jamaica
Height: 6ft 4in (1.93m)
Batting Style: Left Hand
Bowling Style: Right Arm Off
Role: All Rounder
Professional Details about Chris Gayle
Major Teams Played for: West Indies, ICC XI, Jamaica, Worcestershire, Western Australia, Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Jamaica Tallawahs, Barisal Burners, Dhaka Gladiators, Matabeleland Tuskers, Sydney Thunder and Stanford Superstars.
First Class Debut: 1998/99
List A Debut: 1998/99
Twenty20 Debut: Chilaw Marians Cricket Club Vs PCA Masters XI at Leicester on 15th September, 2005
Test Match Debut: West Indies Vs Zimbabwe at Port of Spain, 16th March, 2000
One Day International Debut: India Vs West Indies at Toronto on 11th September, 1999
T20I Debut: New Zealand Vs West Indies at Auckland on 16th February, 2006
Early Life and International Debut of Chris Gayle
From childhood, Chris Gayle had a liking for the game of Cricket in the cricket mad Caribbean country Jamaica. He joined the Lucas Cricket Club in Jamaica and started his professional career as a cricketer. Prior to his international debut, Chris Gayle played for Jamaica at the age of 19 in a first game. Just 11 months later, Chris Gayle played his first one-day international game for the West Indies. In one day international he stamped his authority by scoring 175 runs against Zimbabwe in 2001 at Bulawayo. He and his partner Daren Ganga put on 214 runs opening partnership during that match.
International Career of Chris Gayle
There were high expectations for Gayle when he made his debut because of his reputation of a hard hitting opening batsman. But it took a bit of time for him to get established with that image of his. In the year 2002, for the first time, he scored 1000 runs in a calendar year and recognized himself as a proper cricketer along with Sir Vivian Richards and Brian Lara.
It is not that Chris Gayle is a brute force in the limited version of the game only. He has been equally well in the test cricket area as well. He is among the only four players who have scored two triple centuries in Test Cricket. Gayle scored his first triple century against South Africa in 2005 when he scored 317 runs and next was in 2010 against Sri Lanka when he scored 333 runs.
With financial disputes at large in the West Indies cricket board, Chris Gayle has become more or less a professional cricketer and he is always in the demand for the major T20 leagues across the globe. Chris Gayle has played for big T20 teams like Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challenger Bangalore, Sydney Thunder, and Jamaica Tallawahs. People glued to their seats when Christopher Henry Gayle is on the show for sure!
Gayle is known to be the hardest hitter in the game of cricket. He has the power to put pressure on the bowlers of opposing teams. Besides this, he also has a strong and bold style of batting. Gayle’s playing technique is quite unique and effective too. His art of throwing spinning comes in handy in ODIs.
While the West Indies was facing very low days, Gayle was always there as their ray of sunshine. But in 2012 and 2013, even Gayle had to face some difficult times as his performance was utterly low in the ODIs. But, with his fighting spirit, everyone knew that he was bound to bounce back soon.
In 2017, Gayle played his ODI after a gap of almost 2.5 years. Later in 2019, He showed his best game and made sure that Windies qualified for the 2019 World Cup. Not only that but he also smashed England in early 2019 at the series held in West Indies.
The Chris Gayle Quote
If it was not for Lucas (Cricket Club), I don’t know where I would be today. May be in the streets.